Fender, &amp; c., for tram-cars.



No. MQJIUI. Patented May l5, I900.

W. MATTES. FENDER, 81.0., FOR TRAN CARS.

(Application filed June 30, 1899.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. Mwm. Patented May I5, 1900. w. MATTES.

FENDER, &c., FOB TBAM BARS.

(Applicafion filed June 80, 1899.} (No Modal.) 3 Sheets-8haet 2.

No. GWJUI. Patented May 15, I900.

W. MATTES. FENDER, 81.0., FOR TBAM CARS.

(Application filed June 80, 1899.)

(No Model) 3 Sheats$heet 3.

ATES WILHELM l\IATTES,-OF ALTONA, GERMANY.

FENDER, 806., FOR TRAiVl-CARS.

srncrrronrron forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,?01, dated May 15, 1900.

Application filed June 30, 1899] To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILHELM MATTES, manager, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Gr. Rosenstrasse 23, Altona, in the Duchy of Holstein and Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fenders or Obstruction-Removers for Attachment to Tram-Cars,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Hitherto fenders or obstruction removers carried by tram-cars have possessed the dis advantage that a body falling in front of the car is either severely injured by violent contact with the fender or else gets underneath the fender or guard itself, so that there is little or no real protection against the danger of being run over. Myimproved tender or obstruction-remover when compared with already-known inventions of the same nature, some of which have had to be abandoned, possesses the great advantage that the appliance works quite automatically at the moment of impending danger and is completely independent of the attention and presence of mind of the driver. hen my invention is in use, it is altogether impossible for a body falling in front of the tram-car to be drawn underneath the wheels, because the action of my improved fender is twofold in the following sense: The safety-guard provided in front, which I will hereinafter term the fore guard, offers a place of safety to a body falling direct thereon, the fore guard running on rollers and having joints easily manipulated and being provided with strong wire-gauze or cord-netting. If, however, the obstruction lies in the middle of the track, the fore guard, which has an upturned edge in front, is enabled to pass over the body or obstruction, rising in so doing and releasing a second fender or catcher, hereinafter termed the second catcher, situated underneath the car. This second catcher being thus automatically released when the fore guard is lifted by the obstruction falls with its two side arms (which are controlled bysprin gs) upon the rails and sets in motion a system of rollers situated between the two arms, the effect of this motion being to gently lift the ob struction--say the body of a person--and drop same into the net of the second catcher. The latter in its descent will automatically $erlal No, 722,380. (No model.)

stop the car, its lateral arms acting as a brake. The same descending motion also works the slide of a sand-box in such a manner that the contents of this box fall upon the rails, thus greatly assisting in stopping the car. The moment the second catcher is released other nets arranged laterally will be caused by springs to open out at the sides of the car and drop on the pavement, their normal positions being at the sides of the car, but turned upward when the car and the fore guard and second catcher are also in their normal positions. Thus a person falling sidewise upon the fender or guard is prevented from being dragged under the Wheels of the car.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, I have attached hereto a sheet of drawings, on which- Figure 1 is a side view of the front part of a tram-car with my improved double-acting fender in its usual or non-working position. Fig. 2 shows the same when an obstruction has come underneath the fore guard. Figs. 3 to 7 show, on an enlarged scale, the main parts of the arrangement, Fig. 3 being a view of the second catcher; Fig. 4, a section of the same, and Fig. 5 a front view thereof. Fig. 6 shows the spring-bearings of the india-rubber cylinder hereinafter described; Fig. 7, a side view of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the front part of the car looking forward and showing in elevation the front fender and the supports of rear fender.

Upon a plate a, which is preferably situated underneath the car, two levers g are mounted on a shaft t', which rotates freely in bearings a. These levers g are bent in an upward direction at the front and carry an india-rubber roller g. Between the said levers g and the plate a a wire-gauze or narrow net or any suitable material extends in such a manner as to afford plenty of room for the reception of a personfalling upon this safety-catcher, the levers g extending for this purpose as far as convenient toward the front. If, however, a

person or object should be lying already upon the track, this forward safety arrangement fulfils quite another purpose.

Underneath the bottom of the car and fixed .to same at each side are bearings b, which serve to support the shaft b, upon which are mounted small levers h in working connection up and engages with spring-clips i, as may be seen in Fig. 1, so as to be supported laterally thereby, but falls down at the same time as with the said shaft. These levers 7t are connected at certain points with the levers g by means of connecting-rods 70. The levers h, which are arranged at a distance from each other equal to the width of the track, serve as supports to bent levers c, which belong to a protecting net or'catcher placed underneath the car, only intended to be used when the fore guard has not removed the obstruction. As the front catcher or fore guard is not always capable of catching the body lying between the rails, it may happen that the body remains on the ground, the foreguard simply passing over it, and thus being'raised, whereupon the levers c, which rest upon the levers uh, are caused to fall, the rods 7.: having drawn the small levers h from their original positions, as shown in Fig. 2.

The levers c,which pivot onshaft d, now fall directly onto the rails,.the additional piece 0' coming into con- ;tact with the latter, and thus substantially assisting in stopping the car. A small lever d is mounted upon shaft cl in such a manner as to press against a compressed spring d when the arrangement is out of action. As

soon as the levers c are released from their supports this spring substantially contributes to an increase in the speed at which the levers c descend. The second protector or catcher also offers a convenient resting-place fora person or body falling upon the line rollers n and 0, cause the body picked up to be slowly and gently carried to the protecting net 1', into which it falls on leaving the roller 0. In order also to prevent the braking action of the levers c from being influenced by the roller lifting the levers in consequence of irregularities in the pavement, the shaft of the said roller m, as may be seen in Figs. 6 and 7, is made elastic at each side by means of springs 0 so that any jol-ting to which the roller might be exposed will have little or no influence on the levers 0. Another safety arrangement is provided in case an obstructing body lies about the rails, but only in part underneath the car.

This arrangement consists of a netor catcher t, attached to the levers c by hinges, which when not in use is turned the main fender in such a manner as to take up aslanting position across the pavement and'beside the rails. This catchert is provided at the side of the wheel with a wall of network a, made of flexible material, as the net 15 has to be turned upward.

In order to keep the lovers 0 in position upon the rails after the fender has fallen down, a stop mechanism is attached to said levers, consisting of a pawl-like hook p, the teeth of which engage with a stud p, fixed to the car, whereby the levers c are prevented from leaving the rails.

An apparatus for spreading sand, which is coupled to the stop mechanism, serves materially to assistthe stopping of the car under the influence of the brake-levers. The box 8 (see Figs. 1 and 2) is closed by a slide 5, which is lifted simultaneously with the fall of the levers c by means of the pawl-like hook 19, thus causing the contents of the box to pour out upon the rails and producing a still more effective braking of the car. It will be understood that as the levers 0 fall the upper end of the pawl 19 engages the flange or arm projecting horizontally from the top ofthe slide 3, so as to lift the said slide, as'clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Many small alterations may be made on the double-acting fender without materially altering the principle of this invention. Thus, for example, the releasing of the levers c from their normal position could be effected by electric means.

As may be understood from the drawings and description, my improved protecting apparatus offers an essential advantage when compared with existing arrangements of the same nature, because injuries to persons accidentally falling under the car are altogether impossible, the net '10 of the second fender or catcher, which affords support for the back of the person caught by same, being constructed in such a manner that should the body be carried lengthwise on the bands q and either the head or the feet strike against the said net to (which is made flexible'and yielding by extending springs) there will still be spare room even in such a position of the body until the person is entirely raised from the pavement by the working bands on the rollers.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters-zPatent, is-

1. The combination of the forward-safetyguard g hung on pivotshaft 2' the hinged rear safety-catcher c the levers h on which the pivot of the catcher c rests when out of action, and the rods connecting theguard g with the levers 77. so as to sustain the front part of the rear catcher 0 when theguard g is down in normal position and release it when the guard g is raised, as explained.

2. A duplex fender or obstruction-remover for attachment to tram-cars consistingof a forward safety-guard in combinationwith a rear safety-catcher, the latter being normally held up clear of the track by a trigger operated automatically from the forward guard, and having two pivoted side arms with short hinged extremities capable of dropping within the groove of the rail for the purpose of braking the car, and an endless band passing over two rollers and being rotated by the friction of one of said rollers against the ground, and

stop mechanism, and the sand-box for the purpose and substantially in the manner hereinloefore described.

3. The combination of the rear safety- 5 catcher 0, means for supporting the same normally in elevated position and the side guards t hinged to the catcher c and when the latter is in elevated position supported by clips 15 and when the catcher 0 falls dropping autoro matically outside the rails as explained.

4. The combination of the hinged catcher a pawl 13 attached thereto, and sand-box s hav ing a sliding shutter s engaged by the pawl 12 so as to open the sand-box and discharge sand in front of the wheel when the catcher falls, as explained.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVILI-IELM MATTES. \Vitnesses:

E. H. L. MUMMENHOFF, Or'ro W. IIELLENRIOH. 

